Hispanic Dental Association elects director

The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) has appointed C. Yolanda Bonta, D.M.D., of Somerset, NJ, as its executive director.

Dr. Bonta, a founding member of the association, spent 17 years at Colgate-Palmolive, where she held a series of management positions in clinical research, new product technologies, professional product development, and global professional marketing.

She has worked with key opinion leaders across various specialties, defined strategies to build stronger relationships with dental and hygiene schools, and created scientific publications, the HDA said in a press release.

"She is well known throughout the dental industry for her passionate leadership and her steadfast determination to promote innovation and excellence in the field of dentistry," the HDA noted.

Dr. Bonta's studied dentistry at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Dental Medicine, where she was also academic faculty of both the schools of medicine and dentistry. She is a graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo with a certificate in periodontology.

She also holds masters' degrees in clinical microbiology from UPR and oral biology from SUNY. Dr. Bonta is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and the Academy of Dentists International, member of the American Dental Association, American Academy of Periodontology, American/International Association for Dental Research, National Dental Association, American Association of Women Dentists, member and past president of the Board of Directors for Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a member of the Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures, and past president of the Board of Trustees of the Student Clinicians of the ADA.